Part of solution

OPINION

Our position: A guest-worker program for illegal immigrants deserves to be law.

July 22, 2005|By Sage

Congress has made big changes in government structure and policy to bolster homeland security since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But members have left an important piece of business unfinished: immigration reform.

Under the current, broken immigration system, more than 10 million immigrants are living in this country illegally. That total includes some 850,000 in Florida.

The overwhelming majority came here to work, often to fill low-wage, menial jobs that Americans won't. But because these immigrants are living underground in this country, authorities have little way of knowing which ones are otherwise law-abiding, and which few might be up to no good.

It's been more than a year since President George W. Bush called on Congress to reform the immigration system. He urged members to bring "millions of hard-working men and women out from the shadows of American life" while "allowing border patrol and law enforcement to focus on true threats to our national security."

Some members of both parties in Congress recently introduced a guest-worker proposal that could accomplish the president's essential objectives. The proposal would let foreign workers get federal permission to enter and stay in this country up to six years to fill jobs unclaimed by Americans. Workers would need to pass medical and background checks and pay $500.

Immigrants already living and working here also could seek the government's approval to stay up to six more years, but they would need to have a clean criminal record, be caught up on their taxes, and pay a $2,000 fine. That penalty and other conditions mean that this proposal would not amount to amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Critics argue that the government should solve its immigration problems by deporting illegal immigrants and sealing the borders. If only it were that easy.

Attempting to round up and send home at least 10 million people -- more than the population of Ohio -- would be a massive undertaking that would divert limited law-enforcement resources from other, more pressing threats to public safety. It also would decimate the work forces in many industries. When the government cracked down on illegal workers in Nebraska meatpacking plants in 1998, for example, the industry almost shut down in the state.

And recent history proves there are limits to what spending more on border security can accomplish. Congress increased the budget for the U.S. Border Patrol tenfold between 1992 and 2002, yet the population of illegal immigrants in this country went up.

Improvements in border security are welcome. But to deal effectively with illegal immigration while meeting the demands of the economy and enhancing homeland security, Congress also needs to create a legal channel for guest workers.